Almost 200,000 World Youth Day backpacks are being ‘bagged’ in Sydney in readiness for the arrival of the pilgrims of the world.

A team of University students, young adults and school students have been preparing the backpacks for several months now and are finding the process to be a foretaste of the global event.

“I wouldn’t get up this early for an 8am start for work or uni. There’s something a bit special about this job. I’ll be looking at the pilgrims in July thinking “Hey, I might have packed your bag,” says Nathan Tran, a 4th year commerce and arts student who is also the President of the Sydney University Catholic Society of St Peter.

Over 100,000 WYD back-packs have already been prepared and the ‘back-pack team’ have almost hit the halfway mark of 275,000 - the projected number of pilgrims who are traveling to Sydney for WYD2008.

The backpacks are loaded with useful items such as a transport guide, Australian journal, a compendium to the Catholic catechism, pen, thermal blanket, torch and poncho, as well as some Aussie souvenirs – koalas, boomerangs and a book of Australian landscape photos by Ken Duncan. 

A spokesperson from Sydney’s Catholic Education Office said that packing the backpacks was a way to be as inclusive aspossible and provide alternatives for all students to get involved in the spirit of the upcoming event.

"It's a way for us to get involved with World Youth Day particularly with all the excitement and enthusiasm growing in the lead-up to the event," said Year 9 student from De La Salle College, Revesby Heights, Sebastian Nelson.

The fifteen year-old, who misses out on registering as a pilgrim to attend the event (which has a minimum registering age of sixteen) says, "it's still nice to be able to contribute in some way."

World Youth Day Backpacks and Catering co-ordinator Lina Marroun said that the Catholic schools in Sydney averaged about 10,000 backpacks each day, with every student being rewarded with a backpack each at the end of the day.

Year 9 De La Salle College co-ordinator Ann-Maree Doyle said her students were so enthusiastic about the project that they had made about 600 packs in under 30 minutes.

“After their first half-hour break, they were keen to get back into the warehouse and begin packing again,” Ms Doyle said.

“They crank up the music and it’s a bit of party out here” commented uni student Nathan Tran about the community atmosphere that’s generated at the WYD backpack warehouse.

“It’s good fun to be out here. It’s a great vibe and it’s inspiring to see it all physically come together. I saw the warehouse when the bags were all empty, and now we’ve got to find room to put them all, now that they’re filled.”
 

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